


Holmes and Watson constantly complimenting each other

by Sherloki1854



Series: Johnlock in the original canon [16]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Analysis, Johnlock - Freeform, M/M, Meta, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Freeform, Subtext
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-03
Updated: 2015-09-03
Packaged: 2018-04-18 21:19:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4720793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sherloki1854/pseuds/Sherloki1854
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They cannot shut up about how brilliant the other person is...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Holmes and Watson constantly complimenting each other

Holmes's praise for his Watson; he also calls Watson “invaluable” several times:

 

The Red-Headed League

“ _You could not possibly have come at a better time, my dear Watson,” he said cordially._

“ _I was afraid that you were engaged.”_

“ _So I am. Very much so.”_

“ _Then I can wait in the next room.”_

“ _Not at all. This gentleman, Mr. Wilson, has been my partner and helper in many of my most successful cases, and I have no doubt that he will be of the utmost use to me in yours also._

So Holmes prefers Watson to his work and has no qualms whatsoever admitting that in front of a concerned client. In fact, it seems like a case is not really a case for Holmes until Watson joins his investigations, like here.

 

A Scandal in Bohemia

“ _I think that I had better go, Holmes.”_

“ _Not a bit, Doctor. Stay where you are. I am lost without my Boswell.”_

Apart from the fact that this is a huge compliment for an author, Holmes yet again does not care if the client (in this case, the King of Bohemia) is comfortable with Watson there. 

 

The Hound of the Baskervilles 

_But you are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it. I confess, my dear fellow, that I am very much in your debt. [...]_

_My dear fellow, you have been invaluable to me in this as in many other cases. [...]_

“ _You will see how impossible it is for me to go to Dartmoor.”_

“ _Whom would you recommend, then?”_

_Holmes laid his hand upon my arm. “If my friend would undertake it there is no man who is better worth having at your side when you are in a tight place. No one can say so more confidently than I.”_

_The proposition took me completely by surprise [...] The promise of adventure had always a fascination for me, and I was complimented by the words of Holmes and by the eagerness with which the with which the baronet hailed me as a companion._

And this all comes withing a couple of pages. Holmes was in an effusive mood that day...

 

The Three Garridebs 

“ _You’re not hurt, Watson? For God’s sake, say that you are not hurt!”_

_It was worth a wound--it was worth many wounds--to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain._

This is marvelous. Holmes will later state that he would have killed the shooter had Watson died.

 

The Retired Colourman 

_With your natural advantages, Watson, every lady is your helper and accomplice_

This is Holmesian for “you are very good-looking indeed, my dear Watson”.

 

 

Watson's for his Holmes; just about a hundredth of the material – here come my personal favourites: 

 

The Final Problem 

_[He] whom I shall ever regard as the best and the wisest man whom I have ever known._

 

Thor Bridge 

_[T]he man whom above all others I revere_

 

The Man With The Twisted Lips

Watson once admires aquiline features, and this is how he describes Holmes: _In the dim light of the lamp I saw him sitting there, an old briar pipe between his lips, his eyes fixed vacantly upon the corner of the ceiling, the blue smoke curling up from him, silent, motionless, with the light shining upon his strong-set aquiline features._

 

 

And...both: The Devil’s Foot

_It was that vision which gave me an instant of sanity and of strength_

_I dashed from my chair, threw my arms round Holmes, and together we lurched through the door, and an instant afterwards had thrown ourselves down upon the grass plot and were lying side by side, conscious only of the glorious sunshine which was bursting its way through the hellish cloud of terror which had girt us in. Slowly it rose from our souls like the mists from a landscape until peace and reason had returned, and we were sitting upon the grass, wiping our clammy foreheads, and looking with apprehension at each other to mark the last traces of that terrific experience which we had undergone._

“ _Upon my word, Watson!” said Holmes at last with an unsteady voice, “I owe you both my thanks and an apology. It was an unjustifiable experiment even for one’s self, and doubly so for a friend. I am really very sorry.”_

“ _You know,” I answered with some emotion, for I have never seen so much of Holmes’s heart before, “that it is my greatest joy and privilege to help you.”_

 


End file.
